


who would have known?

by dinnerwithseungwan



Series: meet me in the library [2]
Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff I guess, broke artist seulgi, med student seungwan, wenseul - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28613871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinnerwithseungwan/pseuds/dinnerwithseungwan
Summary: when things make sense
Relationships: Kang Seulgi/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Series: meet me in the library [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096565
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	who would have known?

seulgi really should have tied her hair up before starting on this project. now she has a yellow paint on the locks of her black hair, a creaking chronic backpain, and an unfinished oil-on-canvas snugged on her reliable beat-up easel. she calls it a day, stretches, and almost knocks over a half-eaten instant noodles in a cup. 

how she has managed to live independently and finance her studies with art commissions is beyond her, and borderline stupid. her parents beg her not to do this to herself- they are not despicable. in fact, seulgi is loved and her parents are more than capable to support her love for arts and her living in the city. it is just that seulgi is stubborn. she likes to challenge the world. she thinks she owes it to the world to explore.

so when it gets too exhausting, seulgi breathes in another person's scent. probably, someone who digs edgy broke student who does arts for living. there are a lot of them on this dating app. people who see the world the way she sees it. people who wish for the same courage and stupidity seulgi embodies. seulgi filters them by their conventional attractiveness (she is not a hypocrite- she likes pretty girls), then by their bio (she likes them intriguing but not too pretentious), and lastly, her romance must not make the first move. it is a must. seulgi wants the thrill of getting someone interested in her. 

she likes meeting new people to de-stress and forget how she may actually be just wasting her precious years being hard-headed. seulgi knows she is a catch. she is street-smart. she is charming. she paints for valentines. she sings lullabies. she has her way with words, has her way of making someone feel too special, just exactly how she wins people over. but, no one ever stays. all are fleeting. temporary. seulgi does not want them to stay. what is the point if people will stay in her life? she moves on, easily. too easily, it almost makes her the asshole. it is not like she lets them on. she always affirms her inability to commit before they move into the bedroom. she sets the line. she cuddles in the morning. she makes breakfast when she is not running late for her classes. she falls in love, but she cannot let herself stay for another night. if they hurt, they hurt. and seulgi cannot be held guilty for it.

she scrolls down her match list and scans their profiles. she wonders if anyone is still awake right now for a meet-up. she switches to her contact list and mules over it. she rarely does repeats and in all of those times, it is just for sex. she does not feel like having sex. she just wants to rest, talk over cheap beers, and denounce capitalism. seulgi is about to let her finger hover over the name of that girl she was with two weeks ago, when a notification popped out.

the dating app says she has a new message.

from wannie.

wannie. that girl she matched with a month ago, exchanged few messages on the app, and then ghosted her. okay, it is not actually ghosting. wannie never promised her anything. she just stopped replying, even when seulgi checked on her just the other day.

she was painfully disinterested in seulgi. until tonight.

[hi. are u still awake?]

"wow," seulgi exclaims in excitement.

all she knows about wannie is that she is in a medical college, which makes her damn bright for managing to enter the program right after high school, and that she lives just nearby. twenty-two minutes by foot. three minutes by car.

[yes, still painting :)]

seulgi replies even when she has long abandoned her plans of touching the brushes tonight. she really just wants to impress wannie of her hard work, and remind her that she does arts. she can be condescending like that. 

[busy then?]

[not really ;) why?]

[can u keep me awake?]

[yea, ofc ;p]

[meet me?]

"shit," seulgi tosses her phone on to her bed, then scrambles around to pick up her used clothes. this place is a mess. she has been dying to meet this cute med student and if she tells her she wants to be at seulgi's place, it will be seulgi's place. should she just crash into her flatmate's bedroom? byul always keeps things neat. it is hard to believe, but her room is a sanctuary compared to seulgi's. is she even home? is she at her girlfriend's? "damn it. i am not gonna get laid in here."

maybe she should just insist on staying at wannie's. she remembers she lives alone in one of those prime apartments near her college. there should be no problem.

[yea, give me a min. i'll tidy up]

she should shower. she reeks of thinner and paint. oh god, she is not going to touch wannie with these hands. she flies into the shower, cleans herself up thoroughly but also hastily. thank the heavens she is nimble, otherwise she would have tripped and broken an arm. she lathers herself with fruity-scent body lotion, jiggles into one of her nicer fitting jeans, and then slips into a cropped white tee. summer nights can be cold so she grabs her over-sized plaid shirt.

she checked her inbox again. wannie sent her an address. a coffee shop. that one that sells overpriced lattes and bland cheesecakes. they probably underpay their workers, even. seulgi promised herself she would never step inside that shop.

damn it. if only wannie was not too damn pretty.

[okay, im omy. see ya!!!]

she kicks her feet into her converse, and then buns her hair messily before locking the door after her.

she has stared at wannie's profile photo long enough to spot her inside the cafe as soon as she pushes the door. god, she is even prettier. and dainty. and feminine. is she studying? at least two books are on the table. and a laptop. and some more papers neatly stacked. 

"hi," wannie greets first, brown-blonde gradient hair glistening against the yellow aesthetic lights above her table like a halo. she gestures at the chair opposite hers. "glad you made it. i'm seungwan."

"seulgi," the artist nods with a smile. her eyes dart to the articles scattered on the table. "studying?"

"yeah."

"and you need to be kept awake?"

"yes."

"oh."

she is not getting laid. 

"are you disappointed?" wannie chuckles with a hint of some teasing. she blinks her eyes, her ridiculously brown eyes, slowly. "you did tell me before you just wanted to talk to someone sometimes. unless, the offer is not-"

"oh no, no. it is fine. i am okay with talking. just talking." 

seulgi assures her. she was not in the mood for sex anyway, she consoles herself. or lies to herself. now that this drop-dead gorgeous girl she has been crushing on is chewing her lower lip absentmindedly, it is hard to stay wholesome when seulgi is so attracted. she can barely function. 

"are you done?" 

wannie asks without peeling her gaze away from the laptop screen. 

"done with what?"

"staring." seungwan presses her lips into a smile. she palms her nape and stretches, eyes finally landing on seulgi. probably on the subtle yellow paint on her hair which seulgi is only remembering now.

seulgi lets out an awkward laugh, which somehow hitched in her throat so now she appears tragic and pathetic. 

"i was not staring," she denies. they both know it is a lie. "i was remembering your face."

"what for?"

"just in case you won't see me after this anymore."

wannie does not say anything after. instead, she slides a card across the table and instructs seulgi to get her something to eat. she is not used to her dates paying for her, but wannie insisted. and really, the menu here is overpriced. a cup of cappuccino costs the same as one acrylic tube. she needs those acrylic tubes. besides, wannie is well-off. she probably won't mind if she orders a cake slice as well. 

wannie is articulate. smart. clever. her idea of mastering the topics involves her discussing the whole subject to seulgi in a way that the artist would reasonably understand. seulgi does not understand everything but she tries anyway. she does not think she would be interested in toxicology. she should really paint outside her room where it is ventilated. during wannie's study breaks, twenty-minutes at most, she lets seulgi say something about herself.

the artist shares how she ended up living on her own. wannie thinks it is both dumb and admirable. seulgi agrees. 

"so why didn't you enroll in arts program?" 

"i don't want to do what i love doing the most for money, for the rest of my life."

the establishment closes around four. the patrons are leaving one by one. a couple occupies the table nearest the entrance. a trio of students are camping on their readings as well- one already knocked out asleep. and then there is wannie and seulgi, in a comforting silence. they have been exchanging suggestive banters for the past hour seulgi has been given the license to stare. wannie has stopped teasing her about it. she stares back even. the only time wannie lost was when she laughed when seulgi showcased her inability to wink. 

"you are cute, aren't you?"

"i know."

seulgi winks (sort of), and wannie giggles.

it is almost four. wannie has started collecting her things. seulgi wishes they could spend more time, but they never really talked about it again. 

"here." seulgi hands her the receipt of their purchase. wannie studies her, looking almost offended. "don't worry. i am not paying you. i am too broke for this cafe. but _here_."

wannie receives the piece of paper. she rolls her eyes to feign annoyance, but her lips betray her. it is a quick sketch of her face. 

"this is why you have been staring."

"i told you i do not want to forget your face in case you won't see me again. i don't forget what i draw."

wannie folds the paper and tucks it in the back pocket of her shorts. 

"so see me again. you can paint my room, if you are free. paint it yellow." she points at seulgi's hair. "i like it."

"yellow is a nice color."

the color of her happiness which seulgi may have found today.


End file.
